Finance Minister Explores Aerospace Opportunities with Boeing

25.08.2023 - 13:34 / skift.com / Amrita Ghosh / Jyotiraditya Scindia / Air India

India’s Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman invited U.S. aircraft maker Boeing to ramp up investmentin the country, given India’s flourishing aerospace and civil aviation market. The planemaker had earlier announced that it will invest about $24 million on setting up a logistics center in the country to stock spares for commercial airlines. During an interaction with a delegation from Boeing’s global senior leadership team, the minister underlined India’s focus on repositioning itself as a maintenance, repair and operations hub that can potentially cater to a wide region spanning Europe, Africa and the Far East. Earlier in March, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia also highlighted it was time for India to look at manufacturing aerospace products, adding that the aggregate fleet size of domestic carriers is estimated to reach around 2,000 aircraft over the next five to seven years. Sitharaman further emphasized the opportunities available for companies to relocate to India to be a hub for the region. In reference to Indian airlines’ record aircraft order, she informed the delegation about Gujarat International Finance Tech-city banks’ aircraft leasing operations.

Indian aviation watchdog Directorate General of Civil Aviation will conduct an auditof cash-strapped Go First’s preparedness to restart operations, the company said in an internal memo to employees. The regulator will conduct the audit in coming days, with operations commencing following the regulator’s approval, the airline’s Vice President of Flight Operations Rajit Ranjan told employees. “You are requested to be available for flying so that the relaunch is smooth and we start flying as soon as possible,” the memo said. The memo came after an appeals tribunal upheld insolvency proceedings against Go First, making it harder for the airline’s lessors who are attempting to take back their planes. The airline has blamed its financial woes on problems with engines from Pratt & Whitney.

Kazakhstan’s low-cost carrier FlyArystan has launched flights from Delhi to Shymkent. With two weekly services on Mondays and Thursdays, the airline’s fare for one-way flights between the two cities starts from $55. With 14 Airbus A320 aircraft currently, the carrier plans to expand its fleet to 19 aircraft by the end of this year. In fact, last year, FlyArystan received a new aircraft from the European manufacturer for the first time. The airline is the first Kazakh low-cost carrier that started its operations in May 2019. Additionally, the Kazakhstan government has also canceled visa fees for Indian tourists on a 14-day visit to the country. 

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